Esdeath vs. Cinder
Esdeath vs. Cinder 'is a What-If? episode of Death Battle. It features General Esdeath from Akame ga Kill! and Cinder from Killer Instinct. Description ''Akame ga Kill VS Killer Instinct! It's a military-esque villain's battle of fire and ice! Will Cinder's flames be able to melt down Esdeath's icy and torturous regime? Or will the general of the Empire extinguish Ben Ferris' flames for good? Interlude '''Boomstick: As we all know, pain is something that can occur from anything that would cause.. well, pain. Like the heartbreak of a character you're emotionally attached to getting hurt or the sharp burning in your fingertips when you touch the hot part of a stove top. Wiz: Pain is a natural response in a human body and can be triggered in many different ways. These two, however, relish pain - not necessarily taking it, but dishing it out in any way they can to the point of sadistic bloodlust is well within their MOs, and will do whatever it takes to get their desired result - everyone else around them, on the floor, in agony. Hoxton: General Esdeath, warlord of the Jaegers. Wesker: And Cinder, UltraTech's flaming lab rat. '' ''Magneto: Those two humans are Wizard and Boomstick, the other two are Hoxton and Albert Wesker and I'm Magneto... Wiz: And it's our job to analyse their weapons, armour and skills to find out who would win... a Death Battle. Esdeath Wiz: In the snow-bound village of the Northen Frontier Lands, a young Esdeath was shoehorned into a life of hunting and killing in order to survive. And she'd needed to be, if she didn't want to end up like her mother, whom of which was killed by an Ultra-Class Danger Beast. Boomstick: Ah, yes, the Danger Beast. A predator alongside the Caution Monster and the Beware Creature. Magneto: As luck would have it in a place like this, the weak die, with only the strongest surviving to see another day. Such was the creed of her father, the chief of the Partas Clan, operating under the old-fashioned "Kill-Or-Be-Killed" principle. Boomstick: If you put the S at the end of Partas at the front, you get Sparta! The Sparta Clan! THIS! IS! SPARTAAA! Magneto: ...No. Wesker: Having been adjusted to enjoy inflicting pain upon other living beings after watching her father gutting animals he captured. We'd best move on from this point before PETA get angry at us. Not that it'd make much sense to. Wiz:'' Eventually, she became a formidable fighter and hunter... as well as an extreme sadist. But her sadistic life would escalate even further when she came back from a three-day hunting session to find her Tribe destroyed, her people and father on the verge of death. From this, she swore that she would get stronger, so that she would never be considered weak. '''Boomstick: And what better way to put up the tough-girl thing by joining the Empire's military? Anyway, while there, she rose through the ranks of the military before she eventually put off enough skill to both impress the Prime Minister and become a General. And the prize she got for her amazing sadistic skill and what-have-you was the choice of a Teigu!' Wiz: Teigu are powerful weapons handed out by the Empire to their strongest to clamp down on the weak. Boomstick: And she made the typical Esdeath decision - choosing the Teigu locked up, Demon's Extract! The frickin' blood of a Danger Beast, to boot! Hoxton: She drank from its urn and, after a brief struggle, was able to control it, granting her control over ice, making her known as the strongest motherfucker within the Empire. Wiz: Her Teigu granted her incredible power of cryokinesis. She can freeze volumes of water easily, create icicles, large ice pillars, large spheres of ice, ice blades to use as close-range swords, and can even create ice from practically nothingness. Boomstick: Think about that! Wesker: Her speed is also a strong point, being capable of dodging lightning from a cloud closer to the ground than normal, as well as using this with her rapier for close range devastation. And she's a bit kick-happy. Wiz: And that's not all. On top of her experience fighting and her strategic mind, she also has a "Sixth Sense" to sense someone's killer instinct. Handy for determining if anyone's dangerous. And because of her torture capability, she knows a lot about human anatomy, therefore knowing where to strike for maximum damage. Magneto: But what makes her a force to be reckoned with among her foes is her Teigu's special ability - Mahapadma. Boomstick: What's so special about Mah Panda? Wiz: No, Mahapadma. It is a special ability that allows Esdeath to freeze time and space around her. All except for herself. Magneto: However, it is up to Esdeath to make the most of the time she has in this mode, as using it strains her body. So much so, that she can only use it once per day, meaning it needs to be used wisely in battle... or just generally. Hoxton: With her powers, she's got a lot of rep. She's managed to perform 400,000 kills in a single campaign, froze over an entire lake in moments, and even killed Night Raid member Susanoo. Shit hot. Well, more like shit cold, but... Wiz: She can even use flowers as torture devices. No joke. Boomstick: Gardening has never sounded more dangerous. Wiz: ...You don't even have a garden. Boomstick: Well, whatever. She has sadism as her greatest asset... too bad it doubles as her worst weakness. That and arrogance. Her bloodlust can easily overwhelm her and throw her off balance, and override any sense of common smarts. And if she finds someone who might actually be useful in her wars, she'll let 'em live. Wesker: Also, her Teigu isn't absolute. Powerful as it may be, it's also taxing on Esdeath's energy. Extensive use will leave her exhausted and lacking in energy, and as such, she needs to conserve its use and only extensively use it when absolutely needed. She, after all, would not want to seem weak, now, would she? Hoxton: No she wouldn't. Wiz: With her skills, torture and ice, few can properly stand in Esdeath's way and live to tell the tale. Esdeath: The weak are destined to lie beneath the boots of the strong. If that angers you, overcome your deficits. Cinder Wiz: Cinder is a flaming experiment from the labs of the evil corporation of UltraTech - the hosts of the Killer Instinct tournaments. Cinder is one of many fighters in these tournaments and has racked up quite the reputation for himself. Boomstick: He's hot stuff. Heh heh. Wiz: But before he became the burning mass of fighting bloodlust he is today, he was once an ordinary man by the name of Ben Ferris. Boomstick: See, we could talk about how Ben here was induced in a life of petty crimes before agreeing to experiements by UltraTech, buuuuuuuuut that kinda came from a timeline that's now been retconned. So instead, let's talk about the modern Ben Ferris! Hoxton: Fair enough. Wesker: Ferris started out life as a successful and incredible soldier for his country's military, performing many off-the-books missions in his time. Eventually, following his well-done career, he left the army at age 31 to join a paramilitary contracts job. With each contract, a chance at a higher and more difficult payday emerged. Boomstick: He's basically Boba Fett without the armour. He was so good at this that he became the Interpol's most wanted! Magneto: Eventually, he got a contract beyond any he had gained previously - to infiltrate the vile UltraTech and to gain information on something known only as "Project Cinder". There couldn't be any heavier foreshadowing. Wiz: Using extensive research and posing as a friend for UltraTech's employees, he began his search for anything related to Project Cinder", even sensing some signs pointing towards extraterrestrial origins. But eventually, he was caught in the act, and was imprisoned in a high-security block after being knocked out by a tranquillizer dart. Hoxton: Turns out an AI by the name of ARIA was wiretapping his stuff, holding all records against him. But eventually, she offered to make him stronger, more able to kill his enemies than the army ever could let him. He accepted. Boomstick: And after what I presume is a very painful lab session, he became the flaming ball of flesh or whatever, known as... Cinder. He only had one goal given to him by his creators, UltraTech - to beat the everliving shit out of Glacius in the Killer Instinct tournament! Wiz: Cinder is a very feared villain within the bounds of Killer Instinct. He is cocky and prefers to mow his enemies down using his speed. And he's not just a cocky asshole in the game, in our real world he is actually one of the most broken characters within the series by physical definition - there have been cases of several Killer Instinct arcade machines that have had to have their plugs pulled solely because of glitches related to Cinder himself. Boomstick: He's Boba Fett, the Human Torch and Turbo all in one! Magneto: Quite. As he is composed of fire, much like that confounded member of the Fantastic Four, he has several fire-manipulating abilities, such as fireballs and streams of fire from his hands. More interestingly, his mutation can allow him to alter his visibility to become either intangible - leaving only his red aura - or invisible. Boomstick: That's right - Cinder can make fire discrete. Despite being... y'know, fire! Wiz: He can also fly, and can punch someone high enough that the arena looks tiny to them - an ability shared by the rest of the cast. He is basically a rushdown character, preferring to use speed and hit-and-run tactics to his advantage and wear down his foes. Hoxton: And then there's the remake, giving him a lot more options for killin', includin' the Pyrobombs. He can launch three at any one time, and each last for 7 seconds before disappearing. If Cinder can detonate them without getting hurt... KA-BOOM! Boomstick: And let's not forget his Shadow moves, allowing for sneakier and cleverer ways of being a fire-plasma guy of death! Wiz: Cinder's body is said to be composed of fire and plasma, Even the coolest of plasma created artificially burns at over 5,000 degrees celcius. Despite this, however, Cinder doesn't melt everything he comes into contact with and no-one else seems to melt around him. The only possible explanation for this is that he is able to control exactly how hot his body is. It'd certainly explain how he can alter his body to be invisible or intangible. Boomstick: Shame Cinder here only gets two No Mercies - one allows him to skewer his enemies with a wall of flame, the other melts them in some kinda weird puddle goop thing. Wesker: But that's not all. He is capable of using his unique trait, known as "Fired Up!". In this state, his body burns at a more intense brightness and higher level of heat for a limited amount of time and amplifying his attacks. His Instinct Mode, Pyromania, adds on to this, allowing him to use a state similar to Fired Up! without the time limitations given to him. Wiz: Cinder has proven that he is definitely not one to be taken lightly. Alongside showing capability of fighting Glacius on a regular basis, he has laid beatdowns to T.J. Combo - even outright curbstomping the guy - has fought in multiple Killer Instinct tournaments, and has managed to stay alive despite his burning body at such extreme temperatures. And his speed on the fighting field is pushed even further. One time, he once flew from a city to a remote island in the middle of the ocean in a matter of seconds. Cinder had to have been travelling at speeds of around Mach 4 in order to pull such a thing off. Boomstick: He'd look like a burning comet in the sky! Magneto: Despite what he may claim, he is not exactly "the best". Because of his heavy focus on speed, he is not the strongest nor the most durable that the Killer Instinct tournament has to offer, and is extremely cocky and arrogant. Hoxton: Not to mention the guy has a weakness to ice and acid attacks. Yeah, no joke. How could he possibly be weak to ice or acid if it'd just evaporate before it hits him? Boomstick: Well, that's provided if it ever hits him at all, what with his impressive speed and downright brutal fighting style and mind! Wiz: Ben Ferris may have had his identity changed forever, but with it he has brought a whole new type of deadliness. Cinder: UltraTech has a plan, and if these pinheads would give it some thought, they'd see they're on the wrong side. But if they really wanna fight it, who am I to complain? Because it means I get to have more fun. So bring 'em all on. You know how the saying goes - play with fire and... well, you know the rest. DEATH BATTLE! AgentHoxton UltraTech facility exterior, late evening The skies were dark, almost pitch black across the field. Lying within the middle of said field was a large, complex-looking building owned by UltraTech. Their technological advances in both experimentation and warfare had skyrocketed since Jago was killed at the hands of Ryu. Even the news of the warlord Eyedol's death as well as the destruction of Fulgore had not slowed the evil corporation down one bit, with their influence over the world and who lives and who dies growing ever more powerful. They had a massive sense of power. But for one person, it was not massive in the slightest. (Cue Audiomachine - Legend of Victory) Some sizeable distance away from the facility, up on a nearby hill, a woman was marching towards the building, backed by a large amount of soldiers. She was wearing a khaki-coloured military uniform and hat, and her hair was blue. Icy blue, in fact. Her pale blue eyes glanced over onto the building before her as she was wearing a casual smile. The thoughts running through her head were pleasant only to the most psychotic of evils - the slicing and cutting out of each individual UltraTech soldier's guts, burning their home cities to the ground and killing everyone and destroying everything they held dear. All UltraTech soldiers would die, for they were weak and she was strong. And that is why she believed she would make all of them suffer tremendously, and that she would not be satisfied until UltraTech crumbled and submitted to her and the Empire. Such was the thought process of General Esdeath, the Empire's strongest. "I hope you all are aware of the plan by this point." Esdeath commanded. "When our pre-set bomb blasts the wall of that facility down, charge in. Take no prisoners. Make them suffer." "SIR, YES SIR!" came the responses from the Jaegers behind her. Her smile turned into a wide, almost Chesire cat-like. Soon, there would be blood. Death. And she would love it. "Very well. When the wall is blown open, charge. For now, let's approach orderly." She ordered. And with that, she marched towards the facility, her soldiers following behind her, starting to draw their weapons as they approached the fence separating them from UltraTech's turf. The soldiers of UltraTech patrolling the perimeter saw the troop incoming and quickly got out their assault rifles. They were about to be invaded. "Intruders! Fire!" shouted the leading soldier, and with that command, the UltraTech soldiers fired their guns at Esdeath's troops, with the Jaegers charging forward and taking them down with ease. Smiling at this, Esdeath used her rapier to cut the chain-link fence apart, before producing a remote. She grinned as she glared at the button. One press, one boom... ---- Training building (Cue DeVso Music- Descendent Of God (2013 Epic Powerful Hybrid Heavy Rock Vengeance War Choir) While all of this was going on, UltraTech's training building was holding an exhibition match between Glacius and a newly rebuilt Fulgore. They were both stood at opposite ends of the arena when suddenly... BOOM! Both Glacius and Fulgore shielded their eyes from the blast as they looked to the source, the wall in front of them both having been blown out with a massive hole, debris littering the immediate area. The battle cries of soldiers chorused from the area as the Jaegers, having slaughtered the soldiers outside, charged towards the two Killer Instinct tournament combatants. Alarm sirens began to fill the air as Glacius and Fulgore looked at each other, before getting into fighting poses. UltraTech was under attack, and their survival was more important than training. A bunch of soldiers began to surround Glacius, who looked between each in confusion. Suddenly, the icy alien let out a roar as he grabbed one of the soldiers by the head and smashed him into the ground, killing the soldier instantly. Another attempted to charge Glacius, but one punch knocked him out instantly before he used a spiky ice ball to neutralise the third soldier. Nearby, Fulgore was easily slaughtering Jaegers left and right with his plasma claws before launching several plasma projectiles at the remaining soldiers. All of them screamed in agony as the plasma burnt and killed them. All except for one - Esdeath. "I suppose if you want the weak eliminated right, you have to do it yourself." She mumbled, before leaping at Glacius with her rapier, stabbing the alien in the stomach. Glacius roared in pain as a blue-ish substance leaked out of him before the general drop-kicked the alien to the wall. All the while, Fulgore was slowly progressing towards her under his cloaking device. As Fulgore uncloaked, Esdeath turned and materialised some icicles behind her. She jumped to the side as she launched the barrage at the cyborg. The ice shattered on impact with Fulgore's body, causing him to stagger back. She them materialised a large ice ball and, with a massive grin on her face, slammed it down on Fulgore, tearing the cyborg to pieces. Again. Eagle's mind was being used in Fulgore and was experiencing what Fulgore went through. Sucks to be him, huh? ---- Elsewhere in the UltraTech facility With the sirens still blaring loudly, there was another Killer Instinct tournament combatant marching down the corridor. He was hardly the most discrete thing in the world as he picked off the occasional Jaeger that had charged from the group in the training building and came his way, blasting a fireball at them to burn them to ashes. Standing tall from head to toe.. and constantly burning. His fire-plasma body was creating a bright orange light as he kept charging through the corridor, his volcanic rock-esque face constantly emitting some kind of scowl. To some, he was known as Ben Ferris. To others, and to UltraTech in particular, he was known as Cinder. "Alright, can someone around here tell me what the hell is going on?" Cinder yelled over the sound of the alarm. He had been jolted out of his preparations for his next match and, suffice to say, he currently wasn't in a joking mood at the moment. He would have just continued slaughtering more intruding soldiers, had he not found an UltraTech scientist. "Cinder!" he called, running to him and putting a hand on his arm - and quickly retracting it with a yelp. Turns out putting your hand on a fire-like surface causes your hand to burn. Who'd have thought? "UltraTech is under attack! They breached in through the training building!" Cinder took this information in. He was scheduled to fight Glacius today, and he knew Glacius was in there with Fulgore. If he had been robbed of his fight... then he'd just have to get his fun out of the intruder. And in Cinder's head, there was going to be hell to pay with his opposition. He would show them all kinds of burns beyond recognition. And he would love it, as he does all the time. "Sounds like I've got a score to settle." Cinder stated firmly, before blasting his way down the hall. He was god damn determined now, and he would see this one through to the end. (Stop music) ---- Back in the training building Esdeath stood among her handiwork, placing her heel down on the destroyed head of Fulgore and grinning sadistically. Her conquering and takedown of UltraTech had begun with the destruction of Glacius and Fulgore, and she felt nothing could stop her from forcing UltraTech's global hand to submit to her wants. That was, until she felt a fireball hit the back of her head. Her smile faded as she turned to see the source of the burning projectile that had hit her - a burning human-shaped mass slowly flying down towards her, before landing on the ground of the ruined training centre and walking up to the general. Her eyebrows went up in slight intrigue as she felt the heat coming off of the Killer Instinct combatant and the fact that this burning person stood taller than she did. "Well, well, well." He said, almost condescendingly. "What do we have here? Someone who clearly can't tell the doors from the walls, that's for sure." Esdeath looked to the hole she made, before smiling faintly. Just another weakling to dispose of. "UltraTech is going to submit to the Empire tonight." Esdeath told him plainly and simply. "Regardless of what you desire, they will die and submit to me, the strongest, as they should." Normally, this would shake fear into her opposition and would allow themselves to submit to the Empire. Ben Ferris, however, was not normal. "That's cute." Ferris stated calmly, cracking his burning knuckles. "I take it you're one of those all-bark-no-bite kinda people. Ever watched movies? Those kinda villains tend not to have things go well for 'em." Esdeath's jaw dropped slightly. He, someone who was clearly a weakling, was being defiant? An offence only punishable by death in the general's eyes. She would have quipped back in anger, but Cinder suddenly launched a fireball from his hand at Esdeath, who jumped back to avoid it. "So tell me." Cinder continued, launching another fireball. "What makes you think you can just barge in all willy-nilly and just claim your dominance over UltraTech like some kinda dictator while stealing a fight that I was supposed to have?" Esdeath once again dodged the fireball, but mid-jump, time slowed to a crawl for her as everything went grey. Everything except for her and Cinder, that is. Her sixth sense was indicating a severe killer instinct within the flaming fighter before her, something quite intense. Something... intriguing. Appropriate for a Killer Instinct combatant to have a strong killer instinct, yeah? "Hellooooooo?" Cinder suddenly broke the greyscale time-slowdown effect with his chatter. "Anyone home?" He suddenly got his response when Esdeath materialised a small group of icicles and launched them at Cinder, who quickly flew back and out of the way. Esdeath's smile turned into a grin. "I have heard much of you." Esdeath said. "And I will enjoy watching you squirm in pain as you try in vain to stop my takeover of UltraTech. All control will be mine." Cinder looked at the general before getting into a fighting stance. (Cue Killer Instinct - Cinder's Theme) "Your "takeover" ain't gonna happen, Frozone." Cinder declared. "I'll fight you for it. I'll show you how much of an ice person I am!" Everyone who was reading this right now likely groaned at that pun. It's going to be the first of many, trust me. FIGHT! Esdeath bared her usual ear-to-ear grin, before lunging at Cinder with a charging punch towards his chest. As she knew from her time, a punch to the chest, especially with incredible force, would at the very least cause breathing problems to the recipient as well as the potential for broken ribs. Cinder caught the punch in his hand, and in doing so, sent him back with the general grinning at him at close range. Cinder just stared back. She didn't seem to have much reason to smile. And it quickly faded, as she felt a burning sear into her hand and smoke rising from it, flames starting to flicker between her fingers. Her sadistic smile turned into a pained grimace as she quickly withdrew her fist, which was now red-hot from being exposed to Cinder's flaming body. She put her other hand over it as she glared at Cinder, who was simply stood waggling his finger. Yes, Cinder had the balls to taunt someone like General Esdeath. He has bravery. Either that or stupidity. Or both. "Didn't your parents teach ya not to put your hand on an open flame or something?" Cinder asked. Esdeath growled. He had the nerve to mock her late father? ...Well, yeah. It's Cinder. But still... "You are weak... you know nothing!" Esdeath barked, and attempted to kick Cinder, but the burning experiment of UltraTech easily telegraphed the attack and jumped back. Cinder landed on the floor, skidding and creating some burning skid marks before he launched a fireball from both of his hands towards the general, both of which are dodged by Esdeath. Gritting her teeth, she dashed, drawing her rapier and stabbing it at Cinder. Ben Ferris could feel blood leave his body on both ends and coughed up a strange dark red substance. Seemed like blood mixed with petrol. Weird. "Oouurgh..." Cinder groaned. "Now don't be so cold, lady!" Cinder launched a wall of flames at Esdeath, who materialised a defensive wall of ice to block the attack. With the wall beginning to slowly melt to Cinder's fire, Esdeath launched herself upwards and materialised a group of icicles, launching all of them down on Ferris not with a look of grinning sadism, but with a grimace of sheer hatred for the burning foe before her. Cinder looked up at the attack and did well to blast away from the rain of icicles, all of them shattering upon hitting the ground. Esdeath turned back to Cinder with her same old smirk. "Why run away? It's a sign of weakness." Esdeath told Ferris. "And that's all you worthless hacks will be to me. Now submit." And with this command, she materialised an ice sword and threw it at Cinder. Cinder corresponded with a fireball, cancelling the two attacks out. "No ice, Frosty the Snowcone." Cinder responded. Esdeath's smile faded again, before leaping into the air and raising her arms, forming a giant ice ball coated with spikes. Cinder looked up as his frosty adversary grinning down at him as she threw this colossal ice ball down upon him. Cinder appeared to be engulfed as the ball shattered, launching spike shards everywhere. Esdeath landed on the ground as some of the ice melted into water, some steam rising through the air. And unlike her previous attacks, Cinder was nowhere to be seen. All that she could see was a red aura where she remembered seeing him last. She smiled confidently and turned away. "Another victory for the Empire. As always." Esdeath gloated. She had felt confident that she had finally defeated this weakling. At least, she was. Until she felt two taps on her shoulder that almost ignited her coat on the touch. When she turned around, she was shocked to find Cinder stood right in front of her. "Word of adv-''ice''. You kinda need to work on your aim." Cinder told her. Unbeknownst to her, the human fireball had used his intangibility to avoid the previous attack. Likewise, she also didn't know that while her back was turned, Cinder had attached three balls to the back of her military coat. His Pyrobombs. And with a snap of his fingers, just as the Empire's strongest was about to lash at him, an explosion of flames blasted her straight past him, knocking her straight into a wall. Cinder put his hands on his hips as he admired what he had accomplished. "Talk about an icebreaker. Ohhhhhh!" Cinder hollered, taunting the general yet again. Esdeath, whose back was now coated in third degree burns, growled in anger. "Stop... being... defiant!" Esdeath demanded, launching more and more icicles at the burning mass before her. Cinder started to weave around them, but one hit him right in the pelvis. Imagine that. A guy weak to ice getting hit in the burning nuts by an icicle. Ouch. "Ooooh... gah... I think I took that one right in the solar plexus..." Cinder groaned. Esdeath took this good opportunity to kick Cinder multiple times, each one staggering him and leaving a burn mark on her heel. Not that Esdeath cared. By now, Esdeath didn't seem to mind the fact that her hands burnt every time she punched Cinder in the face. With the pain she could feel going into him, it was probably worth it. Eventually, though, Cinder caught one of Esdeath's punches and returned one of his own, causing her to let go. "Look here, Elsa, I've had it up to--" Cinder told her as he pointed upwards, spitting a pillar of flame that reached the ceiling. "--HERE with you!" Esdeath watched with a neutral look on her face as Cinder jumped into the air, and before long the room lit up with a white light. As it subsided, Cinder's once-red flames were now back to a bright yellow. The molten rock-like structures seen on him before had now disappeared. Pyromania had been unleashed on the field of play. (Cue Killer Instinct Season 2 - Fury's Core/Cinder's Theme) "This heat..." Esdeath mumbled as she felt the significant temperature increase in the room, and the remaining ice on the floor melting into water. Cinder landed on the floor once again and pointed at Esdeath, before clenching the hand into a fist. "That's right, baby." Cinder told her confidently. "I'm hot stuff now!" He blasted himself towards her, ready to strike her, but the Empire's strongest managed to leap over the attack with ease. She fired another barrage of icicles at the now fired-up (ha) Cinder, but was dismayed to see the icicles melt and evaporate before they could hit him. If he could grin, he would be doing just that. "Nice try. But there's snow chance left for you!" Cinder taunted, launching a Pyrobomb that stuck to Esdeath's chest. But before he could snap his fingers to detonate it, Esdeath leapt forward and punched him in the face, disintegrating the bomb and causing Ben to grasp at his burning face. He responded by... disappearing. He went completely invisible. Despite Esdeath not being able to see him, she could still feel the intense heat, and materialised an icicle and threw it in the direction of the heat, immediately revealing his position. "Well, crap." Cinder mumbled as his position became apparent. Esdeath grinned, and blasted ice at Cinder who flew out of the way out of the barrage, launching fire streams at the ice to cancel the attack out. The two were now locked in a stalemate of fire and ice that didn't seem to break. "I forbid you to be defiant!" Esdeath barked. "Cry me a fucking river." Cinder retorted, his fun demeanour suddenly dissolved in the thicket of battle. "You think you're the only military hotshot in town? We're both in the same boat there, buddy." He eventually broke the fire-ice deadlock and flew down, creating a burning shockwave that knocked Esdeath back. "If it weren't for the fact that paramilitary stuff paid more and that UltraTech turned me into the Human Torch, I'd probably still be tearing a lot of enemy assholes out in the deserts." Esdeath smiled at this revelation. "Hmph. A coward, I take it." Esdeath concluded. "Fuck right off." Cinder immediately shot back, firing a fireball straight at her, which she dodged. "Like I said, I'd probably give the enemies me and my comrades fought against nightmares if I showed up like this. I don't feel any guilt about the people I've fought or killed during the time I served. I've done my things for the greater good. Do you feel guilt about anyone you killed or maimed?" Esdeath thought about all the torturing, all the killing, and all the freezing she did to those who stood against her and the Empire. Fond memories... "They are all weak." She told him. "For the weak, I hold no guilt." Her Cheshire-cat grin re-appeared, but not before it was quickly wiped off her face by a backhand from Ben Ferris, creating a massive burn-mark on the side of her face. "Then learn your place and put the thought into your head that I'm not gonna hold any guilt either." Cinder told her. "Not least to smug little pricks like you." Esdeath staggered, before utterly glaring with pure malice at the burning man stood before her. He, of all people, had the nerve to tell her what to do? She would have done something to Cinder, had he not suddenly blasted himself upward and launched three massive Shadow Pyrobombs, all sat around Esdeath. The gaps between them were bare. A small or very thin person could probably squeeze their way through. Not Esdeath, though. "Well, Little Miss Fuhrer-nheit?" Cinder told her as he hovered above her in his burning Pyromania state. "If you've got a god - and assuming that god isn't you - then I'd suggest you pray to them now." Esdeath was at a loss at what to do as Cinder was preparing to make a finger snapping notion, but it was there that Esdeath smiled. There was still one thing she hadn't tried yet. "Mahapadma." (Stop music) Upon uttering the word, time slowed to a crawl. Cinder wasn't moving, his fingers still yet to snap. The Pyrobombs hadn't detonated. Everything was still. Except for Esdeath. Grinning, she leapt out of the Pyrobomb trap and landed cleanly on the ground, before looking up at the frozen Cinder. "Now... how am I to get you down from there?" She cooed. It was a trick question - someone like her clearly knew the answer. She leapt up, and started relentlessly punching, kicking and stabbing Cinder at various weak points she thought of in her time. The head. The joints. The pelvis. The chest. All were attacked by Esdeath before setting up a barrage of icicles, all aimed at Cinder. She felt her energy draining somewhat, and knew this to be the cue that Mahapadma's short-lived use was about to run out of time. She felt she made the most of it, though. As time was brought back to normal, the icicles fired. To Cinder, he felt severe pain across his body, and the icicles all hit him, causing him to let out a pained yell as he fell to the ground, Pyromania fizzling out and leaving Cinder in his base form, a mix of red and orange flames covering his magma rock-esque body. Esdeath smiled as she hit the ground, with Cinder slowly getting to his feet. (Resume music) "Ha... ha... you thought I would just die like that?" Cinder asked her. "Too bad! I'm going out in a blaze of glory!" With this, he threw a strange grey projectile, creating a melting puddle at Esdeath's feet. She probably would have melted into it, had she not leapt at this. Cinder seemed to anticipate her doing that, however, as he launched himself at the general, using himself as a burning projectile to damage the general further and setting her military coat ablaze. Cinder remained in the air as Esdeath hit the ground again, using her ice to put out the flames. "He's weak..." Esdeath pondered. "Yet he still fights...?" Her train of thought was interrupted by Cinder forming two Pyrobombs in his hands and flying up to her, slamming them both on either side of her head and engulfing them in flames. Esdeath, whose face was now red with third-degree burns and the tips of her hair charred black, angrily punched Cinder in the face, before materialising two ice balls in her hands and blasting them straight at Cinder's face. A direct hit for both. "Graaaah!" Cinder yelled out as his flames turned red and dim, getting knocked back into the rubble. This time, he didn't get back up. This gave Esdeath time to consult her options. She definitely wanted to cut this burning man open and make him suffer, and she walked towards him with such intent... ...but then she stopped. And thought. This man had defied her so much, gave her so many burns, and had to make her think. She would love to make him suffer for his defiance and failure to submit... But she had a better idea in mind. "You know..." Esdeath told the downed Ferris. "I would have cut you open if you were a useless weakling. But truth be told... I might have interest in you. I certainly haven't faced anyone of your kind before. Perhaps you could be... of use to me. To the Empire." "...the hell are you talkin' about?" Cinder groaned through his pains. Esdeath pointed her slightly-melted rapier at Cinder in response. "On your feet." Esdeath commanded. Cinder tried to do so, but was very slow in doing so, angering the general. "Now." "Quit your bitchin', alright?" Cinder argued, fed up of the scenario. "I'm gettin' up." Before long, the UltraTech experiment was unsteadily on his feet. "The hell kind of "use" you thinking of?" "Simple. You mentioned paramilitary services, Ben Ferris." Esdeath explained. "You could expend that by joining the Empire. Ruling by my side. We pay well to those who obey us." Normally, Cinder wouldn't give a rat's ass about the deal... but he couldn't just turn down what pays. "How much we talking?" Cinder asked. "A good salary. Whatever your group paid, the Empire will cover you triple." Esdeath grinned as she stared up at him. "Consider the offer." Cinder thought about it. On the one hand, it would give Esdeath what she wanted - victory, and control over UltraTech. But the prospect of the huge paychecks and becoming the world's wealthiest was right up his alley. Reluctant a decision as it was, he felt it would help him. "...alright." Cinder finally agreed. Esdeath grinned even wider as she walked towards the exit of the training room. She had won, and had a brand new war asset. "Follow me, Ferris." She instructed. Cinder reluctantly did so, walking up to her before the both of them began to wander the halls of UltraTech's facility. K.O? They continued to wander through the halls, almost reaching the main hall of the UltraTech facility. Esdeath was leading, with Cinder close behind. "We have plenty of missions for you, you see." Esdeath continued. "The Empire will make it worth your while." Before long, she came to the door separating them and the UltraTech facility's heart. She kicked it open with one clean boot, and as the door flew off, she and Cinder entered, with scientists trembling in fear. "C-Cinder?" one of them asked, being the one who had came to Cinder prior to the battle. Esdeath bared her Chesire-grin once more. "And your first assignment, Ben..." Esdeath told Cinder, pointing her rapier at the scientists. "...is to destroy UltraTech!" Suddenly, the walls on both sides ahead of the general and the UltraTech fireball were blasted open as two distinctly different figures broke their way in. One was stood in a white martial arts robe with a black belt, and a red headband with red fingerless gloves. The World Warrior himself, Ryu. On the other end? A short but bulky robot, designs consisted mostly of blacks, reds and yellows. He had almost claw-like hands and feet and stared with red robot eyes. This was Dr. Eggman's defect, E-123 Omega. "I have sensed the evils of UltraTech have gathered!" Ryu declared, pointing at both Esdeath and Cinder, as well as Omega. "I shall fight you all to put right what I put wrong!" With these words, he got into a combat position as Esdeath stepped forward to face the two. Similarly, Omega did the same. "THE POWERS OF ULTRATECH ARE MINE''." Omega declared in his booming robot voice. "''ANY AND ALL OPPOSERS WILL BE ANNIHLATED." Looks like UltraTech's remaining scientists were about to have a lot on their hands. And Night Raid might end up with a little bit more than what they bargained for... Results Boomstick: Cinder being used as an asset of Esdeath's? Night Raid and UltraTech are fucked. Wesker: That's just putting it lightly. Hoxton: That Esdeath, Ryu and Omega Battle Royale, though... Wiz: Both Esdeath and Cinder are expert military-grade fighters. Cinder may have more experience in the military and in combat thanks to being older as well as being less predictable and having a body that Esdeath's physique alone is unable to get past, but even with those points in his favour, he's not superior. Magneto: Esdeath may be a physically stronger and more durable foe, meaning many would think she would go to town on Cinder physically. But do you know what Esdeath also is? Clever. For a human, at least. If something was burning her hands every time she touched it, she's not going to want to touch it too much, is she? Hoxton: Cinder's body made physical contact with Cinder pretty much a no-go, and on top of that, she had to be wary of things such as the Pyrobombs. But again, she can take the punishment far more than Cinder can. It's why he uses speed so much, y'know? Wiz: But most importantly, Esdeath is an ice user and Cinder is a fire user. Cinder is weak to the likes of ice attacks from Glacius and acid attacks from the likes of Riptor. In fact, according to Glacius' bio for Killer Instinct 2, before that timeline was retconned, it was stated that Glacius earned its freedom after slaying a "fiery being". This most likely implies that Cinder was outright killed at the hands of Glacius, especially since Cinder was absent in the game. Even if it doesn't stand true today in the modern Killer Instinct timeline, there's no doubt that Esdeath's ice would be more than able to affect Cinder. Boomstick: Yeah, especially since Cinder also has zero resistance to Mahapadma, which screwed him over even further. Wesker: It may be theoretically true that the more intense heat of Cinder could melt Esdeath's ice, but remember that Esdeath can make ice out of practical nothingness in mere moments and can freeze over entire areas in short spaces of time. Cinder's more intense heats like the ones used in Pyromania would be the only time suitable to be able to counter it. Cinder's normal heat would be unlikely to melt it fast enough before it could hit him. Boomstick: Esdeath has never looked hotter! ...Hopefully Cinder would be proud of that one. Wiz: The winner is General Esdeath. Who would you be rooting for? Esdeath Cinder Category:What-If? 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